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UAE Astronomy Center refutes media reports, explains 4 phenomena happening on August 12
While technically all of these events will happen, the extent of their visibility and significance have been inflated in media reports, says the Astronomy Center
- PUBLISHED: Wed 12 Aug 2026, 12:27 PM
UAE's Astronomy Center has issued an explanation of four astronomical phenomena happening today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, in response to media reports that it says have exaggerated or misrepresented the facts.
According to the Center, the four phenomena reported on are a total solar eclipse, the Perseids meteor shower, an alignment of planets and a new moon. While technically all of these events will happen today, the extent of their visibility and significance have been inflated in media reports, said the Astronomy Center.
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Below is each phenomenon and its significance, explained by the Astronomy Center.
1. Total solar eclipse
Reports of a total solar eclipse on August 12 are accurate. According to the Center, it will be visible from Siberia, the North Pole, Greenland, Iceland, parts of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Spain and the western Mediterranean Sea. North America, western and central Europe, Russia and western Africa — including Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and northwestern Libya — will see it as a partial eclipse.
During the eclipse, from certain regions, the Sun's chromosphere and corona will be visible. The shape of the corona varies from one eclipse to another, determined by the intensity of the solar magnetic field.
2. Perseid meteor shower
The Perseid meteor shower, named after the Perseus constellation, occurs annually from July 17 to August 24, with the number of meteors increasing between August 11 and 14.
The Astronomy Center said that for the Arab region, this year, conditions are particularly favourable to view the meteors since during the peak of the shower, moonlight will be absent due to the new moon. The meteors will be visible on Wednesday night going into Thursday morning. However, the Center clarified that from an urban location only a few meteors might be visible due to interference from city lights.
3. Planetary alignment
The Astronomy Center has refuted reports that a special planetary alignment will be visible in the sky on August 12, calling them "exaggerations amounting to misinformation."
The Center said that planets are always aligned along an imaginary line in the sky called the ecliptic, and that at different times of Wednesday night — ranging from just after sunset to just before sunrise the next morning — Venus, Saturn, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter will appear above the horizon. However, the proximity to the sun will make the last two nearly invisible, and the rest would be difficult for an untrained eye to catch in the sky — excepting Venus, which can be seen as a bright object on Wednesday evening.
4. New moon
The fourth phenomenon is an ordinary new moon, and holds no special significance. According to Astronomy Center, social media reports have attributed special features to the new moon tonight, which are false.
